Applications Invited for International Climate Protection Fellowship

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About the Organization

We promote academic cooperation between excellent scientists and scholars from abroad and from Germany.

Our research fellowships and research awards allow you to come to Germany to work on a research project you have chosen yourself together with a host and collaborative partner.

If you are a scientist or scholar from Germany you can profit from our support and carry out a research project abroad as a guest of one of more than 30,000 Humboldt Foundation alumni worldwide - the Humboldtians.

As an intermediary organisation for German foreign cultural and educational policy we promote international cultural dialogue and academic exchange.

About the Fellowship

With the International Climate Protection Fellowships, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation enables prospective leaders working practically to implement a research-based proposal in the field of climate protection or climate-related resource conservation during a one-year stay in Germany.

Up to 15 International Climate Protection Fellowships are granted annually, funded under the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection’s (BMUV) International Climate Initiative. The fellowships target prospective leaders from non- European transition and developing countries (see list of countries), who possess extensive work experience outside academia. Candidates draw up their own research-based proposal which they then implement in collaboration with a host in Germany. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation runs the programme in cooperation with the Centre for International Postgraduate Studies in Environmental Management (CIPSEM) at TU Dresden, the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU), the Renewables Academy AG (RENAC), the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Federation of German Industry (BDI).

Programme objectives:

The global challenge posed by climate change can only be met by cross-border international collaborations. By enabling future decision-makers and multipliers to share knowledge, methods, and techniques with specialist colleagues in Germany the programme promotes this objective, particularly by taking account of issues relating to practical applicability in the fellows’ own countries. In the spirit of the Agenda 2030 and the related Sustainable Development Goals, the programme seeks to contribute to the achievement of these goals by fostering prospective leaders with their undertakings and projects to combat climate change, to develop and implement adaptation strategies, to preserve ecosystems and biodiversity and to foster the sustainable use of the oceans and seas. Furthermore, it addresses sustainability topics relating to natural resources, resource-efficient consumption and urban development. The programme promotes the development of long-term contacts and collaboration with colleagues in Germany.

Target group: Those applying for this programme must be working in the field of climate protection or climate-related resource conservation; they should have proven leadership skills, which must be convincingly demonstrated in the application and supported by appropriate references. In addition to applicants with a background in the natural and engineering sciences, candidates who have been engaged in legal, economic, health-related and societal issues relating to climate change are encouraged to apply for this programme.

Fellowship specifications: Additionally to the monthly fellowship amount – depending on career stage – €2,000, €2,300 or €2,500, the following benefits can be granted:

• Mobility lump sum as a subsidy for expenses in connection with necessary conference and research trips, archive and library stays, etc. in Germany and abroad;
• Subsidy towards the cost of medical and liability insurance;
• Lump sum for travel expenses if the costs are not borne by a third party;
• Language fellowship for a one- to two-month intensive German language course in Germany immediately prior to the fellowship. When a fellowship has been granted, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation may provide financial support for improving fellows’ existing German language skills while they are still in their own countries. Fellows with little or no knowledge of German are strongly advised to take a two-month intensive language course in Germany;
• Family allowances for visits by family members staying at least three months;
• For single parents: flat-rate allowance for accompanying children (under the age of 18) for stays of at least three months;
• Extension of the fellowship by up to three months if children under the age of 12 accompany the fellow toGermany;
• Europe allowance for a maximum of one to two months spent researching at an institution in another European country during the fellowship, provided that this is necessary to carry out the research-based project in question;
• Allowance for research costs amounting to €800 per month for research-based proposals in the natural and engineering sciences and €500 for proposals in the humanities and social sciences;
• Extensive alumni funding after successfully completing the initial stay in Germany, especially support for networking with collaborative partners in Germany during the fellow’s entire career.

Eligibility

• First university degree (Bachelor’s or equivalent), completed less than 12 years previously, counting back from the end of the application period (1 February 2023);

• Leadership skills demonstrated by initial experience in leadership positions and/or appropriate references;

• Extensive work experience (at least 48 months at the time of application) in the field of climate protection or climate-related resource conservation;

• Choice of a research-based project in the field of climate protection or climate-related resource conversation;

• A detailed statement by a host in Germany, including a mentoring agreement; details of the proposalmust be discussed with the prospective host prior to application;

• Two expert references by individuals qualified to comment on the candidate’s professional, personal and, if applicable, academic eligibility as well as his/her leadership potential;

• Citizenship of a non-European transition or developing country (see list of countries) which is also the applicant’s habitual residence and place ofwork;

• Very good knowledge of English and/or German, documented by appropriate language certificates.

Eligible applicants must have lived and worked in an eligible country (see list of countries) for at least 12 months during the last 18 months prior to the application deadline. All stays outside the eligible countries (including Germany) are taken into account, regardless of their duration and reason. Any person who, regardless of their country of residence, has supported themselves for more than six out of the last 18 months with financing from a German institution or who has worked on a doctoral project or studied at an institution in Germany in the last 18 months also is not eligible to apply.

Applicants who have already received sponsorship from the Humboldt Foundation in the form of a fellowship or award are not entitled to apply to this programme but should turn to the appropriate alumni sponsorship programmes. Those sponsored in the context of the International Climate Protection Fellowships are excluded from applying for other fellowships offered by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

How to Apply

Applications can only be submitted online. The completed application form, including the necessary additional documents, must be submitted not later than 1 February 2023.

Visit the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s website for further information on the online application process and all necessary documents as well as access to the online application system. A confirmation of receipt will be issued immediately after the application has been submitted.

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that their documents are complete. Incomplete applications will be excluded from the selection procedure.

The expert reviews and the host's confidential statement must be uploaded by their authors directly to the applicant's online application form. The applicant will send the link needed to access the application form via e-mail to the designated persons. It is only possible to submit the application once all documents have been uploaded completely.

After reviewing the applications, an independent selection committee will decide, by the end of June 2023, which candidates will be invited to participate virtually in a selection meeting in Germany lasting several days. The committee is composed of academics and practitioners working in the relevant fields. The selection meeting will take place in September 2023 and applicants will be given the opportunity to outline their proposal to the selection committee and the other applicants as well as to attend individual interviews held by the selection committee. The selection results will be announced at the end of the meeting. Further information on the selection procedure can be found in the FAQs on the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation's website.

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